This Week in STEM: A Possible Next-Gen Space Shuttle

May 12, 2014

The Dream Chaser by Sierra Nevada Corporation

There’s a new space race brewing in the US. Companies including SpaceX and Boeing are racing to win valuable NASA contracts to put US astronauts back in space. One company that is flying under the radar is Sierra Nevada Corporation. Their vehicle – the Dream Chaser – may look like a mini Space Shuttle but it is capable of carrying 7 astronauts into space and can bring them back (along with a payload) by landing on a runway like the Space Shuttle.

Not only does the Dream Chaser look really cool but the innovation of companies like SpaceX, Boeing and Sierra Nevada Corporation are a great sign for engineering development here in the US.